Primark Aims To Quadruple US Store Count

Discount clothing retailer Primark plans to increase the number of U.S. locations from 13 to 60 within the next five years, according to a Financial Times report.

Primark made its U.S. debut in Boston six years ago, later adding a Brooklyn location, and has since grown across the country, with almost one-third of its new store openings in the past year coming on American shores, including locations in the American Dream mall in New Jersey and on State Street in Chicago.

U.S. same-store sales for Primark have jumped 6% in the past 12 months.

“With our current portfolio trading really well, it feels like we’ve established a strong foundation from which to accelerate our expansion in the U.S. market,” Paul Marchant, chief executive of the Dublin-based retailer, said in the FT report.

George Weston, chief executive of parent company Associated British Foods, said Primark’s U.S. expansion will be primarily east of the Mississippi River, allowing for faster shipments from its Pennsylvania warehouse.

“We learned who our customers are and what they wanted to buy,” said Weston in the FT report, noting that locations in less-affluent parts of the U.S. often did better than those in similar neighborhoods in Europe. Primark is targeting overall growth from 399 stores to 530, including new outposts in Iberia, Italy and eastern Europe, along with its planned U.S. expansion.

Primark lost about £2 billion (more than $2.7 billion) during COVID-19 lockdowns because of its lack of an online presence. An upgraded U.K. website upgrade will help the company better connect to its 9 million Instagram followers, show off more of its collections and check local availability of products, but shoppers cannot make transactions.

“We still want people to come to the stores to buy them,” said Weston. “We are a bricks-and-mortar retailer.”

Related: Retailers Turn to Clothing Rental as Consumer Acquisition Tactic

Primark’s approach differs greatly from many U.S.-based retailers, including Walmart and the Gap, which use virtual fit technology, and Banana Republic, Express, Vince, ELOQUII and other clothing retailers, which offer clothing rental services.